Following the Sage
by adisturbance22
Summary: The Elemental Nations was once shaken and the idea the peace was possible was formed by the actions of the Sage.  Under the Sandaime's advice Naruto seeks an apprenticeship to supplement his training, Konoha's world is about to be rocked.
1. Prologue

Following the Sage

Prologue:

_ It was a dark and twisted time in the history of the world, a time of war and strife. Every man did exactly as they desired sowing chaos that covered the world like a dark shroud, leaving many to live in fear and overwhelming doubt. It was in the midst of the hopeless darkness that an unassuming and unremarkable man did something incredible. The Sage of Six Paths came to bring peace to a war torn world. With his incredible ability to use Chakra and inspire others to join his cause he began a movement of peace in the world._

_ The Sage knowing that his time on this world was drawing to a close passed his legacy to his youngest son and disciple, who believed that love was the answer to bring peace to the world. That son's descendants became known as the Senju clan. The Senju clan often battled with the Uchiha clan who believed power was the path to peace. The will of the Sage continued despite the battles and flourished brightly in Senju Hashirama. The leader of the Senju clan forged a treaty with the Uchiha clan, through that treaty the village of Konoha was formed._

_ Wars continue to rage across the elemental nations, Konoha since its founding has been a bastion of peace bringing about reconciliation through resolving the conflicts that arose between the different elemental nations. The will for peace that began with the Sage of Six Paths continues to manifest even today among the shinobi of Konoha._

Uzumaki Naruto was pleased, actually pleased did not quite capture his attitude...

"I Kick Ass!" the young ninja shouted as he made his way toward the Hokage's tower. As he moved through the peaceful shinobi village of Konoha the events of the last few days ran through his enthusiastic mind.

It had been the lowest of lows not all that long ago, Naruto had been unable to correctly perform the Clone Technique and thus failed his academy exam once again. The feeling of hopelessness had soon faded when Mizuki told him of the "Secret Genin Exam". Naruto had fallen for the line hook and sinker; he was, in retrospect, grateful he had fallen for it. It had been shockingly easy to sneak into the Hokage's office, knock out the old man with his anti-pervert technique and run off to the woods. It had been even easier for Naruto to master the Shadow Clone Technique.

That was when everything went to hell. Iruka turned up and Mizuki turned coat, and there was a struggle over the Forbidden Scroll. Naruto was shell shocked by the news that he was, in fact, the container for the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kyuubi, that had attacked Konoha on the day of his birth. He was pulled out of his shocked state when Iruka, after having proclaimed his support for Naruto and announcing that he was no the demon, took a Shuriken in the back to save Naruto's life. The young blonde made short work of Mizuki after that, overwhelming him with Shadow Clones.

After getting his Konoha Headband Naruto had been placed on a team with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura, much to his dismay and delight respectively. They had not done all to well in the test administered by their very tardy Jounin Sensei Hatake Kakashi, but with a certain amount of dumb luck they succeeded in passing his test about teamwork.

Having passed all tests Naruto was officially a ninja of Konoha and the Hokage requested that he visit him to discuss what happened with Mizuki. And so the blonde shinobi in training found himself standing before the most powerful ninja in Fire Country grinning like a mad man at the man he viewed as his surrogate grandfather.

"Naruto allow me to congratulate you on officially becoming a full fledged Ninja of the Leaf I know that you carry the will of fire admirably." Naruto puffed his chest out under the Hokage's praise, causing Sarutobi to smile brightly in return. "You are probably wondering why I called you in here today." Naruto nodded in response. "I wanted to talk to you about what happened with Mizuki."

"There isn't much to tell old man, Mizuki tricked me and I whooped his butt," Naruto said proudly. Sarutobi smiled as he took a draw on his pipe.

"You did handle the situation very well Naruto and I am very impressed that you were able to do that. In fact because of the service you rendered to Konoha I am pleased to tell you that you are going to be credited with completing an C level mission and you will be paid as such." Naruto jaw dropped causing the Hokage to laugh out loud.

"Whaa? How much money is that?" he asked in shock.

"You will receive 40,000 ryo." He paused because Naruto's entire face went blank for a minute. "Naruto..." The Genin was staring at him with a glazed look in his eyes. "Naruto!" He said louder. "UZUMAKI NARUTO!" The Professor shouted causing the boy to jump in shock.

"Hehe sorry old man... that's a lot of money."

"Yes it is, but you deserve it, you did Konoha a great service in stopping that traitor. The mission reward is not the only thing I wanted to talk to you about. I want to talk to you very clearly about your fight with Mizuki. I know that you were able to defeat him, but you need to understand that you beat him by pure luck."

"What are you talking about old man, he didn't have a chance against me!" Naruto shouted angrily. He couldn't believe what the Hokage was saying to him.

"Naruto listen, he couldn't defeat you because he was completely surprised by your ability to perform the Shadow Clone Technique and furthermore we found after apprehending him that he was completely intoxicated." Naruto's shoulders slumped in defeat upon hearing that news. "Naruto that is nothing to be disappointed about, Mizuki is an experienced Chunin level ninja and you are a brand new Genin. The fact that you survived the encounter not to mention defeated him is a complete miracle. You need to realize this because if you do not have an accurate knowledge of your own strength you may get yourself killed." Naruto frowned as he considered what the Hokage was telling him, it did make a lot of sense.

"I understand old man, I mean I couldn't even beat Kiba in taijutsu spars in the academy and Kakashi sensei really kicked my butt. I guess I am not very strong," he ended sounded very depressed. Sarutobi frowned at the boy's depression, that was not what he was hoping for out of this conversation and he needed to turn it around.

"Look Naruto there is nothing to be ashamed of, you are young and have time to grow into a powerful ninja. The ability you showed when you defeated Mizuki tells me you have great potential, maybe enough to take this hat from me some day." He paused as Naruto seemed to glow under that praise. "What you must understand is something you could not possibly know without someone having told you Naruto."

"What do you mean old man?" Naruto asked as he lounged in one of the chairs within the Hokage's ornate office overlooking the sprawling Konoha village. Sarutobi paused a moment to collect his thoughts.

"There are basically two kinds of Shinobi in any given village Naruto, those who come from a clan, and those who do not. Now those ninja that come from a clan have many advantages to those who do not beyond the bloodlines that everyone talks about. Clan ninjas receive all kinds of training and tutelage from their clan, which allows them to grow continually and steadily throughout their career. Clans also teach their scions techniques which only adds to ninja's growth." Naruto was frowning as he listened. "Now that is all well and good but it leaves ninja who do not come from a clan at a slight disadvantage. Without the training and techniques from a clan, those ninja must find a different way of succeeding."

"Well I don't have a clan, so what do I do old man?" Now the Hokage smiled, he loved it when a plan came together.

"It is really pretty simple Naruto, Ninjas without a clan become a clan unto themselves."

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked scratching the back of his head.

"In most cases it means that Clan-less ninja tend to seek apprenticeships with other clan-less ninja who are ranked higher than them to supplement their training. That is what I recommend for you, Kakashi is an excellent Jounin but he has been tasked by the council to specifically train Sasuke, and I fear that will mean you yourself will not get the training you deserve." Naruto growled and frowned even deeper at the thought of Sasuke getting special treatment. "Do not fret though Naruto, I actually have something in mind."

"Is there someone that will actually train me even though I have the... well you know," fear was evident in the blonde ninja's eyes causing the Sandaime to once again curse the villagers for their foolish and ignorant fears.

Since Naruto had defeated Mizuki the Hokage had been considering just that question, who would be both willing and capable to become Naruto's master. The boy simply had to much potential to waste. After no small amount of time a name had finally surfaced that made the Professor smile.

"Yes Naruto, I believe there is a special Jounin that would most certainly take you on as an apprentice and would help you immensely. His name is Genma Shiranui."

**A/N – Please voice any questions or concerns in reviews. This story is obviously going to be far different from the canon, there will be many similarities, for the most part things will be fairly close to the canon until after the Exams then the divergence will be much more apparent. No slash in this story. Pairing undecided at this point. That's all for now.**


	2. Chapter 1

Following the Sage

Chapter One:

It was a beautiful morning in Konoha, there was a slight breeze causing the leaves of the forests in Fire Country to rustle in almost a whisper across the landscape. That calming whisper stood in stark contrast to the stress that Uzumaki Naruto was feeling as he trudged toward Training Ground 31. That was where the Hokage told him he could find Genma Shiranui to request an apprenticeship. He was off of team training for the weekend and therefore had the morning free to seek out the ninja that the Hokage had personally recommended as a Sensei. Naruto was excited by the prospect of having a Jounin level ninja teach him, he was sick of being known as the idiot of his class.

Despite his excitement about the possibility of special training he was really nervous. The Hokage had told him that an apprenticeship of this sort was not something that he would order, it would be entirely up to Genma to decide whether or not he wanted to accept Naruto's apprenticeship. As Naruto pondered the gravity of the request he was about to make he couldn't help but shuffle his feet and slow his pace as he neared Training Ground 31.

"What if he says no?" he wondered aloud. The Training Ground he was headed to was very secluded, almost a kilometer from the densely populated areas of Konoha. The path he was on was winding through the forest and he had a little ways to go, as he considered his own question. "So what, if he says no I will not lose anything I can only gain by asking." This thought process gave Naruto a renewed sense of purpose and his shuffle turned to a sprint.

Before too long Naruto came to a halt at the edge of a clearing, there was a sign posted next to the path that read "31". Right down the middle of the large clearing there ran a river that was about fifteen feet across and dotted with stones. The clearing was really more a meadow then a clearing, half of the area beyond the river was actually a hill moving up towards a higher portion of the forest. To Naruto's right there was a collection of Training Logs set up and there pounding away on a log was the ninja that met the description the Sandaime had given to Naruto. The man was tall almost six feet tall and he wore the standard Jounin outfit, a olive drab vest, dark blue long-sleeved shirt, and baggy dark blue pants that were taped from his shins down to his shinobi sandals. The only defining marks on him were his bandana forehead protector that left his leaf symbol on the back of his head and the

senbon that was hanging from the side of his mouth like a toothpick.

Naruto watched silently as the older shinobi systematically destroyed the training log he was striking. It took less than two minutes of punching for the log to be reduced to little more than a nub of its former self. Just as Naruto was about to call out to his perspective master, the ninja disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto stared around blankly trying to determine where he had gone.

"Why are you watching me?" came a voice from behind the young blonde that caused him to jump and turn as quick as he could. Genma was standing there placidly chewing on his senbon. Naruto calmed down enough to ask his most pressing question.

"That was awesome, how did you disappear and move that fast?" he shouted. Genma raised a questioning eyebrow at that response, causing Naruto to remember his purpose, he laughed nervously. "Erm sorry, I came here to ask you a question Genma sir." The Special Jounin nodded his head in response. Naruto swallowed the nervous lump in his throat and stiffly bowed as respectfully as he could (not very respectfully at all). "Genma Shiranui it would be a... umm... honor if you would accept me as your apprentice," Naruto paused forgetting the last part of what the old man had told him to say. "And... oh yeah, I will strive to bring honor and respect to the Genma clan." Naruto finished his bow and nervously looked back at the brown haired ninja.

Genma for his part seemed unfazed by the request and was simply staring at Naruto, not moving at all accept for chewing on his senbon. After a tense moment he responded, "Well this is most unexpected Uzumaki. I certainly did not anticipate someone of your... reputation to request an apprenticeship." He stared at the boy, who seemed to be growing minutely impatient. As Shiranui considered the prospect of having an apprentice he couldn't help but think that the boy could actually bring a fair amount of respect to his name, he certainly had all the potential for it. "Very well, Uzumaki I will accept you as my apprentice.." Naruto gave a whoop of excitement and began to rush forward to high five Genma. "Just a minute allow me to finish." Naruto stopped dead, his eyes going wide. "I will accept you if you accomplish a task of my choosing."

"What task Genma sensei I can take anything you throw at me!" Naruto was determined to succeed his whole life nothing had gone his way and this time he was not going to let this opprotunity pass by.

"Very well the task is simple I want you to guard this path while I train, if I feel you have done an admirable job of guarding the path then I will accept you as my apprentice." Naruto frowned, why in the world would a path to a training ground within the village needed to be guarded? It didn't matter he realized, he said he was going to take any task on, so if Genma wanted him to he would be the best guard there was.

"Okay Genma sensei I will guard this path with my life!" Naruto responded and he took up a position next to the sign marked 31, staring dutifully down the path. Genma nodded and simply walked back toward the training logs where he resumed striking the heck of the poor logs. Naruto glanced back at Genma for a moment before resuming his sentry watchfulness over the path.

"I wonder how long he trains for?" he asked himself idly.

Naruto was beginning to get frustrated he had been watching the path to Training Ground 31 for hours, he had arrived at 9 in the morning and by now it was mid-afternoon. Not only had he seen no one except for Genma throughout his entire guard duty, but the aforementioned ninja had not paused in his training for even a moment. After obliterating all of the training logs and replacing them with new ones, Genma had then moved through dozens of katas at an agonizingly slow pace. After the katas the man stood on the river, not next to it but on it, and made the water do all kinds of crazy things: flow backwards, flow over him, bubble, swirl, shoot in different directions. Now the man was simply sprinting almost faster than Naruto could follow with his eyes around the entirety of the training ground.

"How long is this guy going to train for?" he wondered in slight frustration.

If Naruto had thought he was frustrated before now he was wrong, the sun was almost completely down and Naruto had been staring at the same empty path all day, he was mad. No one had ever appeared for him to guard his future sensei against.

"What was that idiot thinking? We are in the middle of Konoha no one needs to guard this training ground! Do I even want such a dumb man as my Master?" Naruto muttered in anger. He glared at the ninja in question. Who was just finishing what seemed to be thousands of pull-ups. The Jounin had been training nonstop all day and had never stopped for a break even once. As Naruto watched Genma released the tree branch he was hanging from and dropped lightly to the ground and began to walk slowly, he almost seemed to be stumbling toward the river. In fact as Naruto watched Genma slumped to the ground right next to the river and was completely motionless.

"Did he just pass out from over training?" He asked himself in frustrated astonishment. "That stupid idiot made me sit here all day guarding him and he passes out! Serves him right, what a loser, I could never want a loser like that as a teacher." With a growl Naruto stood from his spot next to the sign marked "31". "I am out of here, there is no way I am wasting any more time watching this dumb path." As Naruto stepped onto the path a shadow appeared coming around the bend in the trail. Causing Naruto to stop completely, as the shadow came closer it turned out to be a person covered completely by a dark gray cloak, walking toward the training ground and Naruto himself. Naruto froze for a moment watching the mysterious figure.

"Hey you what are you doing here?" Naruto called out to the figure. The person seemed to ignore him except that he began to pick up speed moving toward the training ground. "Hey stop, who are you?" He yelled the figure sped right past him without slowing. Now Naruto was panicking the figure was headed straight toward Genma's prone form. Naruto moved without thinking. "Shadow Clone Technique!" He shouted and three clones appeared next to him and together they moved as fast as possible in pursuit of the cloaked figure.

Luckily Naruto was fairly fast from all his practice evading ninja and villagers after a good prank and his clones and he were able to overtake the intruder. Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it in the ground in front of the shadow causing it to stop.

"I don't know who you are but you are going to stop right where you are or I will kick your ass!" Naruto declared as he and his clones sunk into a fighting stance. He tensed as two hands appeared from inside the cloak and moved to the hood. Naruto pulled another kunai from his pouch as he prepared for the worst, his muscles beginning to tighten in anticipation of a fight. Everything froze as the figure spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the shadow said, Naruto prepared himself for the conflict bringing his kunai up for an attack. The shadow's hands pulled back the hood. "I accept you as my apprentice." There with a small smile on his face was Genma Shiranui. Naruto's jaw dropped as his clones dispelled.

"Wha?" was his intelligent response. Which caused Genma to chuckle. Naruto looked over his shoulder and watched as the Genma lying next to the river fell apart into water. "A water clone?" he muttered feeling completely confused. He turned back to Genma, "Why did you make me guard that stupid path all day, if you were the only one that was going to come down it?" he demanded remembering his former frustration.

Genma paused as he placed a senbon in his mouth. "Well Naruto I needed to know something about you. As a ninja you will be given many tasks that you may or may not understand, that may even seem as tedious and useless as guard duty. A great ninja knows that it is honorable to do one's duty, imagine if I really was a ninja coming to attack me while I was exhausted from a day of training. You may have wasted most of the day staring down and empty path, but in the end you would have saved my life." Genma paused allowing Naruto to soak up that information. "Not so useless you see." Naruto nodded in reply as he considered what his new sensei said.

"Wait so you will take me as your apprentice?" he asked hopefully. Genma smiled again around his senbon.

"Because you were able to perform your duty with honor I am proud to accept you as my apprentice."

"YEAH! Kick Ass! That rocks Genma sensei!" The blonde Genin was literally bouncing all around as he celebrated his success. The Jounin allowed him to settle down before continuing to speak.

"Yes, now you will be done with your team assignments after lunch everyday so you will meet me here at this training ground everyday at two, and on weekend at eight in the morning; is that acceptable?"

"Yes sensei," was Naruto's immediate response.

"Very well, I will leave you with one last thought for now. As your Master my intent is not to make you into a Shinobi exactly like me, but rather my goal is to help you become the shinobi you were meant to be, and to teach you how to improve yourself." Naruto didn't know exactly what that meant but he nodded eagerly anyway because it sounded cool. "Good evening Naruto, I will see you here tomorrow at two, be prepared to work your hardest."

**A/N – Genma has accepted Naruto as his apprentice in addition to Naruto's place on Team Seven. Down the line Jiraiya will been doing some tutelage with Naruto, but Genma will be the primary teacher for some time. Adieu**


	3. Chapter 2

Following the Sage

Chapter Two:

Uzumaki Naruto was being completely overwhelmed by the most relentless beings he had ever had the misfortune of being pitted against. Dogs.

"Kakashi Sensei these D-Rank missions are not ninja missions they are chores! Shouldn't we be fighting bandits or rescuing princesses!" Naruto shouted as he was being dragged behind four overly large dogs. Team Seven had been assigned the seemingly simple mission of walking dogs, little did any of the team (with the exception of Kakashi) how big a task it was to walk the Inuzuka dogs. Somehow Naruto had been suckered into walking the most unruly dogs in the whole pack. Kakashi didn't even look up from his little orange book to respond to Naruto's complaints.

"What's wrong idiot can't walk a few little dogs?" asked Sasuke tauntingly. Naruto was being dragged down the road in one of the residential areas of Konoha by the four dogs he was walking (or were they walking him), while Sasuke and Sakura were walking one rather calm dog each. Naruto turned and shot a nasty glare at Sasuke.

"Whatever, you are just to sissy to handle as many dogs as I can," Naruto ground out, before he turned to attempt to regain control of his dogs. His attention to his canine charges left him completely unprepared to be slugged on the side of his dome by Sakura's Fist of Righteous Fury. The poor blonde was sent flying along with his dogs and all five wound up in a heap against a nearby fence. Kakashi looked up from an extremely interesting scene involving two blondes, a brunette, and exactly 94 marshmallows to see Naruto and his dogs laying in a pile looking dazed.

"Well I think that the dogs have received all the exercise they need, mission complete!"

break

Naruto was trudging his way down the very familiar path leading towards Training Ground 31 all the while holding a pack of ice to the comically huge bump on the side of his head.

"D-Rank missions suck!" he ground out in a frustrated tone. He couldn't believe that after so many years of longing to be a ninja now that he had finally made it he was left doing chores. Naruto grimaced in pain as he repositioned his ice pack on his bump. "Gosh Sakura can hit hard."

Naruto emerged from the forested path into the meadow that made up Training Ground 31 and began looking anxiously for his new Sensei, Genma Shiranui.

"What happened to your head Naruto," came a voice from directly behind the Genin. He jumped seeing his relaxed looking Master Genma. The Special Jounin was standing several feet behind him slowly chewing on his trademark senbon.

"Why are you always popping up behind me?" Naruto demanded? Genma smiled a moment before responding.

"I am teaching you that you need to learn to be much more aware of your surroundings if you are ever going to become a successful shinobi. What happened to you head?" That response cause Naruto a moment of contemplation, it was true if Genma had been an enemy he could have attacked Naruto without him even being able to defend himself.

"My teammate hit me during our mission," he responded repositioning his ice pack again. That caused the new Master to frown slightly, why would teammates be hitting one another during a D-Rank mission. He decided to let it be for now, he could worry about issues on Kakashi's team another day. "Follow me Naruto." With that Genma took off as fast as the average Genin should be able to go off into the woods before jumping into a tree and began leaping from tree to tree. Naruto paused a moment as his sensei took off before his words registered and he took off in pursuit.

Trees were whizzing by as the two ninja moved quickly between the mammoth trees that gave their hidden village it's name. The dense forest passed quickly, Genma looked over his shoulder to see his apprentice not only keeping pace with him at Genin speed but he seemed to not even be winded by the effort. That was rather impressive and told him what he needed to know about Naruto's conditioning. Without a word of warning he dropped to the forest floor, his orange apprentice not even a moment behind wearing a big smile on his face.

"So what are we going to do today for training sensei," Naruto asked eagerly. Genma sat at the base of a nearby tree cross-legged and regarded his exuberant apprentice in silence.

"Before we get to training today I need to learn more about you, our little run just now was my way of determining your level of conditioning which is quite high for a Genin." Naruto preened under the praise of his master. "Naruto what is your dream, why do you want to be a shinobi." Serious expression that Genma wore caused Naruto to pause and consider the question a moment.

"My dream is to be Hokage, the greatest Hokage ever so that all the villagers will acknowledge me," Naruto almost shouted exuberantly. Genma frowned at that response.

"Aspiring to be the leader of the village in an admirable goal Naruto; however, it sounds to me that your reasons are strange."

"What do you mean, I want everyone to acknowledge me so if I become the strongest ninja in the village they will have to acknowledge me."

"Naruto what you are telling me that your true goal is not really to become the Hokage, rather becoming Hokage is a means to an end." Now Naruto was becoming angry, of course he wanted to be the Hokage, he had wanted to be the Hokage his whole life!

"Hey what do you mean, I have always wanted to be Hokage, don't question my dream, do you think I can't do it? I can it's a promise!" he shouted at Genma.

"You miss my meaning Naruto, I am not questioning your ability to become Hokage. To me it sounds like you want to become Hokage not because you want to be the strongest ninja or even because you want to lead the village." Naruto was beginning to look nervous as Genma spoke.

"Why do you think I want to become Hokage Sensei?" Naruto asked quietly. Genma smiled sadly.

"Because you are lonely." Naruto froze completely. Was that true? Images of his childhood flashed through his mind: living alone, eating alone, searching for food in trashcans, watching his classmates parents pick them up from academy, being run off from the playground by people not wanting him to play with their kids. Naruto felt like all the air had left his body, he was alone. "Naruto are you okay?" Naruto came out of his reverie to see Genma's concerned look.

"I am alright, I guess. I think you are right Sensei, I am lonely," the blonde admitted sullenly.

"I know you are Naruto, it really is terrible how so much of our village has treated you because of something beyond your control. You need to understand something though, becoming Hokage, even becoming strong will not solve your loneliness," Shiranui began.

"What can I do then Sensei?"

"You cannot force people to like you with strength. Do you know what the Hokage's job ultimately is Naruto?" The Genin shook his head negatively in response. "The Hokage's most important duty is to protect and serve Konoha's people. It is not about being the strongest and making people respect you. A Hokage earns the people's respect through serving them and keeping them safe. If you want to be Hokage then go for it, and if you attempt to become the Hokage do it by protecting and serving the people of our village." Naruto's eyes were brightening in understanding. "In fact if that is the path you decide to take that is also the best way to make friends, protect and serve people and they will respect, and even love you."

There was silence in the clearing as Naruto was processing the most important information he had received in his life from his new Sensei, Shiranui Genma. Genma, for his part, was content to allow his apprentice to spend a few moments thinking about what they had discussed while he planned the next portion of their assessment.

"Alright Naruto there is one last thing that we are going to do today for training. I am going to leave for five minutes, when I come back I want you to try to ambush me. Can you do that?" Genma smiled as Naruto's contemplative look quickly changed to one of excitement.

"What if you get hurt Sensei?" Naruto asked in concern. Genma chuckled.

"Don't forget that I am a Jounin, you will not be able to do to much damage to me Naruto." That made the young ninja frown. "Look Naruto this is a test and I need you to throw your best stuff at me for it to be effective." With that Genma disappeared in a swirl of leaves leaving Naruto all alone in the forest to prepare an ambush for his new Master.

Genma was impressed to say the least, if he had been a less experienced ninja, say a Chunin and not expecting an ambush he would have been unable to determine that Naruto was even in the area. Genma was hiding in dense cover in a tree overlooking the clearing he had just been in with Naruto and the place looked completely undisturbed.

'The kid definitely has a knack for this,' he thought. Indeed surveying the scene he could not determine that anything was out of the ordinary in this clearing. As for Naruto he was concealed well (especially considering his choice of clothing) hidden beneath a bush just outside of the clearing itself seemingly ready to unleash his ambush. Genma nodded in satisfaction and promptly leaped into the midst of the clearing.

Upon landing he was instantly assaulted by Naruto coming at him from directly behind with a fist reared back to strike. Genma made a neat side step allow Naruto to sail by and chopped his neck, only to have the attacking shadow clone disappear in smoke. Within the momentary cloud of smoke the Jounin heard the faint but tell tale whistling of blades in the air and lept backwards out of the smoke to dodge four kunai aimed to impale him. As he was reorienting himself to locate the next threat he looked over his shoulder to see an enormous log swinging right at his location, Genma reacted with a simple forward kick sending the log careening in the other direction. The clearing was still for a moment and Genma settled into a relaxed position.

Then from all angles he was assailed by orange clad clones that dog piled the older shinobi. As the clones finished their pile up out from under his bush came Naruto laughing loudly.

"Yes we beat him great job guys!" Naruto was strutting proudly toward the pile. "I totally kicked butt." The other clones cheered as well as they began to untangle themselves from their pile. "Just dispel and let Sensei up." With a puff of smoke they all disappeared at once, leaving Naruto standing alone in the clearing. There was a rumble heard and next thing Naruto knew he was neck deep in the earth staring up at Genma. "Hey what the hell we got you!"

"You thought you had me, there is a difference. As your clones lept toward me I simple dug underground and hid during the chaos, then I turned your ambush against you by making you think that you had won so I could draw you out of hiding." The Jounin was looking rather smug about the whole affair. "So tell me what did you learn?" Naruto was looking really frustrated.

"That I suck," he stated. Genma's smug look turned to a frown at that comment.

"Wrong answer, you have to remember I am a Jounin, it isn't that you suck, it is much more that I am skilled. Now listen up because you did quite well." Naruto perked up at that (as much as one can perk up while 90 percent of their body is buried underground at least). "Your stealth was very good, you probably would have been able to hide your presence from most Chunin level ninja. Your traps were also very well thought out and executed a lesser ninja would have almost certainly taken some amount of damage from one or more of them."

The blonde was beaming, according to his Sensei who was really cool and smart he was good at somethings.

"Now there is some bad news, I have two critiques. First you need a lot of work on your Taijutsu all of your moves were telegraphed and placed you completely off balance, tactically speaking you also need more patience you could have waited to see if your clone blitz had worked before leaving cover."

"Yes Genma sir." The older ninja nodded at the proper response, there was definitely a lot of potential in this kid.

"Alright Naruto, our assessment and training is done for today, I only have one assignment for you. This evening I want you to go through the entire range of exercises that they taught you in the academy, they are in chapter four of your training manual. I will see you at Training Ground 31 tomorrow at the same time. Good job today." With that said Genma began to walk back towards the village.

"Hey sensei aren't you going to uncover me?" Naruto shouted realizing he was still very much stuck. Genma responded over his shoulder without even looking back.

"Think of this as training Naruto."

It was late in the evening and Sarutobi was ready to call it a day, he could have sworn that the paper stacks he had been working on all day were taller than when he started. The old ninja slumped back into his chair and took a long drag on his pipe that sounded very much like a sigh. He stared out over his village. The sun was setting just beyond the Hokage Mountain and everything looked peaceful and serene. Peace that always brought a smile to the man's face. It was what his Sensei's whose faces overlooked the village had always strived for, it was the reason for their whole way of life.

Miki the Hokage's secretary entered into his office and broke him of his contemplation.

"Sandaime sir, Genma Shiranui is here to see you."

"Send him in." The door opened further and the Special Jounin stepped into the office closing the door behind him before stepping to attention near the center of the room. "What can I do for you Shiranui?"

"Sir, I would like to make an inquiry about the acquisition of a summoning contract."

**A/N – Summons early on equals excitement. Any suggestions on what contract Naruto should get? I have some ideas but probably won't make the final decision until I actually start typing the next chapter. Fin.**


	4. Chapter 3

Following the Sage

Chapter Three:

Cats were quickly moving up the list of things that Naruto hated most in life. Team Seven had received the most feared (and most common) D-Rank mission, Capture Tora.

"It should be called 'Capture a Demon'," Naruto moaned as the numerous scratches covering his face and body were beginning to really sting. After hours of tireless tracking and ineffective trapping techniques Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto were able to corner and catch the elusive cat that would forever haunt their nightmares.

"Hn," came the strangely agreeable response from Uchiha Sasuke, who had a multitude of scrapes as well, albeit less than Naruto. Sakura on the other hand seemed to be focusing her psychopathic levels of affection on Tora rather than Sasuke for the moment and the cat was happily purring away.

Upon entering the mission office Team Seven found the Sandaime and his assistants buzzing over various mission reports before they finally took notice of the Genin team.

"Ah Team Seven I see you were able to capture Tora, excellent Madam Shijimi will be most pleased. Bring her in please," Sarutobi motioned to one of the Chunin nearby. After a few moments a overly large and overly make-uped (not a real word but you get my meaning) woman came in practically sobbing.

"Oh my you find my precious Tora! Thank you Thank you!" the woman swept the cat into her arms and nuzzled it... lovingly? Without further ado she moved quickly out of the room and just as the doors to the mission office were closing behind her she screeched, "Tora no come back, not again!"

The Hokage chuckled at the sound that the daimyo's wife was a lot to handle, but her cat sure was great for business. He was broken from his reverie by Naruto.

"Hokage sir, I request a mission to assassinate that demon cat for the good of Konoha's Genin populous," Naruto shouted passionately waving a kunai rather demonstratively. The boy's antics always did brighten his day.

"I am sorry Naruto unfortunately I cannot allow that, a mission to assassinate Tora would be at least B-Ranked and you have a ways to go before you are qualified for such a dangerous undertaking. Now what can I do for your team Kakashi?" Naruto shuddered as his Jounin Sensei did his signature eye smile.

"I was hoping my cute ninja could work on one of the farms so that they can come to further appreciate the various industries of the Leaf."

break

"Why the heck did Sensei want me to meet him here today?" our hero, Uzumaki Naruto, asked no one in particular. It had been a week since he had begun meeting with Genma and his training had been fierce. Genma had been working him to exhaustion doing all sorts of exercises and running. He had also been learning some basic chakra control. His sensei had even corrected his form for throwing kunai and shuriken, as well as his basic punches and kicks. All in all Naruto could not believe how much he had improved in such a short time.

Naruto was waiting in front of a small wooden building that looked like any other house in Konoha and yet Genma had been very specific that he was to meet him in front of _this_ house. He looked around where in the world was Genma?

"Hello Naruto," came his Sensei voice, predictably from directly behind the blonde ninja. Naruto turned quickly with a low growl.

"One of these days you are not going to be able to sneak up on me anymore Sensei!" Genma simply smiled in response, he wasn't a Jounin for no reason.

"Well Naruto today is a big day for you, this is the first major milestone in your apprenticeship with me." Now that statement made Naruto forget all his thoughts of defeating his sensei. "Follow me." With that said Genma knocked on the door with two quick taps, and then three deliberate knocks; without a moment's hesitation the door was opened. Inside was an old man, nearly bald wearing a robe and large spectacles. Genma and Naruto wordlessly followed him into the house and down a hallway. They stepped through a nondescript door which led them down a narrow staircase and along another more metallic hallway. Stopping at one of the doors, the man swiftly opened it up and ushered them inside.

Naruto didn't say a word throughout the whole process something about Genma's words, and this old man's presence told him that he needed to be quiet for once in his life. Upon entering the room, Naruto found himself surrounded by wooden shelves packed full of scrolls of varying sizes.

"Look at me young shinobi," instructed the short bespectacled man. Naruto met the man's brown eyes with his own and for a moment he felt as if he were naked. Then with a "tut", the man turned away and the feeling passed. With speed that seemed to defy his age the robed man swiped a seemingly random scroll off of a shelf and quickly shoved it into Naruto's unsuspecting hands. "For better or worse this now belongs to you, use it for the will of fire."

Naruto stared blankly at the scroll in his hand, what the hell was this all about. Genma grabbed the blonde Genin's shoulder and led him directly out of the facility the way that they had come.

The entire trip back to Training Ground 31 Naruto was pelting Genma with questions: who was that old creeper, what is this scroll for, why do you wear your bandana backwards. Finally upon arrival Genma responded.

"You have been granted a great honor Naruto. Normally you have to be at Chunin level to request permission to obtain a scroll like that." Uzumaki just frowned and waved the scroll around.

"What is this scroll for?" he demanded. Genma was patient knowing how his student could get.

"That, Naruto, is a summoning contract." Genma paused a moment to allow the shock to set in on his apprentice.

"A what?" was his intelligent response, causing Genma to smack himself in the forehead.

"You don't know what a summoning contract is?" he asked incredulously. Naruto just frowned and tapped his foot impatiently, taking a deep breath Genma continued. "Do you remember hearing about the Sannin? Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya."

"Sure they are like super strong ninja that kick butt," he responded.

"Correct, but do you remember being told about their ability to summon different animals to their aid in battle?" Now Naruto's eyes got wide.

"Oh yeah Jiraiya could summon huge frogs to fight with him! That is what this can do?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Toads actually, and yes that can summon an animal to assist you. Now the Sannin could summon all kinds of Toads for instance. His contract is now different then the one you hold, though once it was the same. Your contract can only summon one animal, that is the most common kind of summoning contract you will find in the shinobi world. Occasionally someone will so impress their single summoning partner that they will be offered a contract with an entire clan like the each of the Sannin have with Toads, Snakes, and Slugs." Naruto looked in awe at the scroll he was holding.

"So what does this let me summon?" Naruto asked with excitement. Genma shook his head.

"I don't know, I am going to teach you how to summon and then you will find out I suppose." Naruto clenched his fist tightly.

"Then teach me, I give my word I will learn how to summon before the day is over."

Uzumaki Naruto was covered with sweat and looking triumphant. "I have finally got this, it will work this time Sensei!" The sun was low on the horizon and the blonde had discarded his jacket. Genma stood from the rock that he had been observing from, his student was indeed close and after so many hours of trying he was getting anxious to see the boy's summon.

Naruto bit his thumb, and quickly went through the hand seals molding his chakra into each one: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, and Ram. With a shout he forcibly yelled, "Summoning Technique!". He slammed his bloody hand into the ground and lines of seals extended concentrically from where his hand had made contact with the ground. Almost instantly there was a large plume of smoke. Genma's senbon nearly fell out of his mouth with shock, the boy had done it!

The smoke settled leaving a tired blonde ninja facing a creature sitting on its hind legs staring at him. It was about four feet long, it was covered almost entirely in thick black fur, but its back was mostly white fur. Its head was small compared to the rest of its body and ended in a small snout. The creature had long claws and a furry tail.

"Naruto that is quite a summon, a Honey Badger," Genma called out with pride. **(A/N:****If ****you ****are ****disappointed ****thinking ****Honey ****Badger ****seems ****lame: ****A)****Go ****look ****them ****up ****on ****youtube ****and ****watch ****the ****video ****with ****20 ****million ****hits, ****they ****are ****BA. ****B)****Wait ****and ****see ****how ****this ****works ****with ****the ****type ****of ****Ninja ****that ****Naruto ****becomes.)**

"Honey Badger? That sounds lame!" he complained. The creature in question took a step toward Naruto.

"Hey who are you calling lame shortie?" the badger yelled. Naruto's jaw dropped causing Genma to chuckle.

"You can talk."

"You bet I can, now you summoned me, lets fight." Without the badger dug itself directly underground, leaving a stunned Naruto looking at where it disappeared with a slack jaw. It didn't take long for his stupor to disappear as the flat ground he was standing on burst upward like a column sending the blonde shinobi flying.

Naruto came to his senses mid-flight and managed to correct himself in the air and land on his feet. The badger was no where to be seen, which meant it was underground.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Thirty clones appeared scattered around the training ground prepared to attack the summon as soon as it made an appearance. It didn't take long as a couple of his clones quickly disappeared, and there Naruto saw the badger swiping it's incredibly strong claws right through his clones. With a yell the clones charged throwing kunai ahead of themselves.

The summon made a growl as it saw the incoming steel and quickly dodged to the left blocking a stray kunai with its claw. It was not prepared to receive a punch directly to its jaw sending the creature flying backward.

"Ha got you!" the orange ninja yelled. The badger simply turned it's flight into a roll and was quickly back underground leaving Naruto wondering when it would appear again. He dropped into the defensive stance from the academy that Genma had helped him refine. There was a rumble under his feet, but before Naruto could move he was sucked directly underground and wound up neck deep in the earth. In a flash the dark furred creature burst forth from the ground directly in front of him, placing a razor sharp claw right at his throat.

"Do you give up little ninja?" the badger asked with a toothy smirk. Naruto simply raised an eyebrow.

"Do you?" he responded. The badger looking over its shoulder saw that three clones were surrounding it with kunai ready to strike. It looked at them a moment before turning back to Naruto and beginning to chuckle.

"I like you kid, we can work together, my name is Hani." Genma clapped his hands, yes this was coming together better than he had hoped for.

**A/N:**So you may be wondering what was going on with that old man and summoning scroll? Here is my basic concept. Konoha has been around for awhile, and with all of the ninja it has seen there has to be a lot of important stuff (weapons, jutsu, scrolls, stolen goods, etc.) that has been collected by Konoha shinobi. Anyway I just took a little inspiration from Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark. Next Chapter is going to be an important one, Genma has finally figured out what kind of Ninja Naruto will be. So I will explain that as well as show some vignettes of Naruto's training. Then finally the next chapter will begin the wave arch!

fin


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